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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · shower · pitcher · hand · kid · cap · lash · calf

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kid — child
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. staff — a stick
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — a lid
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. shower — rain
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com